News Round Up: Transmogrification Will Require You to Own Items, Blizzard CMs Have Lives, and More

There were a lot of blue posts yesterday and I think it's only fair that we post them up. They answer a lot of questions in general about these new features that were announced such as transmogrification.

These posts confirm that you will need to own the items already in order to transmogrify into them--one of the most discussed aspects of the new system. This will be a letdown for some. It makes perfect sense as it will encourage players to revisit dungeons and raids that many have never seen, but for those of us who raided when they were current, it is a letdown if we have deleted our sets. I know I deleted all my sets come Cataclysm simply because I had zero bank space for anything thanks to all the WotLK sets in there. I will now have to recollect them all it appears!

Patch 4.3 Sneak Peek at Gamescom 2011

Everything we've already heard, but from Bashiok, who is undeniably much cooler than random internet transcripts.

The gamescom 2011 convention is underway in Cologne, Germany, and the first day kicked off with a few big patch 4.3-related announcements for World of Warcraft. Here's a quick summary of the features and content that the World of Warcraft developers are talking about at the show:

Transmogrification: The ethereals are setting up shop around Azeroth to offer adventurers their latest astonishing interdimensional service. The upcoming Transmogrification feature will let players customize the appearance of their gear like never before. For the full rundown on how it works, check out our recently posted blog: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3309048#blog

Void Storage: Now that you've got a good reason to hang onto your old gear, you're going to need somewhere to store it all. With Transmogrification comes Void Storage, a long-term stash where players will be able to keep the items they just can't seem to let go of. Those ethereals think of everything, don't they? Look for an official blog post with screenshots and details tomorrow, August 18.

Death to Deathwing: Alongside all this comes a whole lot of new content. The developers revealed that patch 4.3 will feature three new 5-player dungeons, setting the stage for the ultimate fight in Cataclysm: the final showdown against Deathwing himself. Patch 4.3 will include a whole new tier of raid content culminating in an epic boss encounter unlike anything you’ve yet experienced in World of Warcraft.

Raid Finder and More: We're also working on a number of other new features, including a Raid Finder -- a tool similar to the Dungeon Finder designed to match players looking for PUG-friendly raids -- and some cool renovations for Azeroth's traveling Darkmoon Faire.

But don't worry -- there's plenty of time to prepare. We’re keeping a close eye on players’ progress through the Rage of the Firelands content, and lots of folks are still busy working on obtaining the Dragonwrath legendary staff, completing the Molten Front dailies, and rallying to take down Ragnaros. We’ll have lots more details on the raid, dungeons, and other content coming in patch 4.3 in the months ahead, so keep an eye on the official World of Warcraft website.

Deathwing Raid Setting?

Zarhym's having fun here, but it would be cool if Deathwing involved flying all over the world or the Maelstrom.

He's a tough one. Those skilled enough to take him on will do so just about everywhere... From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam... Oh wait.

Transmogrification Limits: Yes You Will Have to Own the Item to Transmogrify Into It

it will be nice to see the old armor sets again, and glaives and so on.

everyone has some item they like a lot for aesthetic reasons but have had to put it in their bags as it is no longer "viable".

it's good we have this option to make use of that gear once again without it being a dps/hps loss. just think, thunderfury with the stats of the tank sword off beth'tilac! :p

You will not be able to transmogrify using a legendary item as either the source or the recipient of a change.

Time to farm my twill set again

This system is going to launch with fairly conservative rules, so that we can get it up and running as soon as possible and make fun improvements down the road. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that we’ll eventually allow transmogrification to use the twill set or , but probably not for the initial launch of the feature.

This basically punishes Lore Masters for doing all the quests already. In order to get the look I want, I'm going to have to reroll DK and start over again to get my quest / starter gear?

*sigh*

We would like to offer some alternative ways to get favorite items that are no longer available, such as perhaps the dungeon tier sets or the DK start gear. This is something we will expand over time – not every favorite item will be immediately available at launch. But we’ll keep a list of items that get requested by the players and work to get them in someday.

Guess What? Blizzard Plays Other Games

Keep in mind there are thousands of employees here. So just about every combination of playstyle you can imagine is represented here. Even in my own personal play experience I've covered a good chunk of the gambit.

I have:

1) joined and raided with guilds comprised of non-Blizzard employees who did not know where I work,2) ran with premade Battleground groups back in vanilla WoW and TBC, where those players did not know who I was,3) been in a raiding guild made up almost entirely of Blizzard employees and friends/family,4) been in a raiding guild where a few members knew where I work, but did not "out" me to the rest of the group (they respected my wish to be anonymous),5) had Arena partners who never knew I work here, and6) have run dungeons with random players, all the way from random people on my realm in vanilla WoW, to people matched with me via the Dungeon Finder.

Ultimately, when we're in the game we're just players like you. I've quested and run Battlegrounds and dungeons with random people at nearly all levels as both Horde and Alliance. My employment does not shape my gameplay experiences nearly as much as my gameplay experiences inform me as an employee. I find it much easier to approach the game as "just another player," as it makes my profession that much more enjoyable when I get to join in the social aspect of WoW without the Blizz tag. ;)

So I presume you've seen all the good and bad when grouping ---LFD ?

err...enough said :)

I've had some bumpy rides in the Dungeon Finder for sure, but the positive or "normal" experiences far outweigh the bad ones. I've definitely never experienced the majority of the horror stories I read on the forums.

I've yet to be kicked from a dungeon group as far as I can remember, and if I ever get a Vote to Kick prompt, I usually click "No" unless the player seems to intentionally be causing problems, or is being very selfish and constantly making everyone else wait for him/her. In the case of the latter -- sure, everyone has personal lives and sometimes real life calls -- I carry the philosophy they can always get back in the queue when they can actually devote the necessary time to completing a dungeon without interruption.

Though I have to ask, you finish Molten Front yet?

I haven't. My commitment to doing the dailies everyday fell off a bit the last couple of weeks. I've been pretty busy at work lately, and sometimes I just don't feel like playing games by the time I get home. My weekends have been pretty packed full of fun festivities as well (including a romantic getaway this past weekend to Monterey, CA!). I'm also bouncing between a few different games at the moment. Yep, I like other games too! ;)

That pug you just picked up in dungeon finder, who keeps going AFK during your run and face pulling mobs, yeah, that's Zarhym--he's busy responding to your posts on these forums.

Now the real question, Zarhym.....

Will you be trying the new Raid Finder when 4.3 is released? And are you, as a player, excited about it?

Yep. :) I haven't raided enough in Cataclysm due to my work schedule and real-life commitments. So even though my guild is level 25 and working on Firelands, I'll probably find myself PuG raiding pre-4.3 content via this feature.

Hehe. We have team-building exercises here and there during our lunch breaks. Sometimes that just involves going to lunch together. Yesterday though, we set aside time to play WoW together. We couldn't decide on what we wanted to do, and someone left their phone/authenticator at home (lookin' at you Lylirra), so Neth, Bash, Daxx, Kaivax, and I ended up all rolling humans together and questing as a group. Elwynn chat at the time was... colorful.

Azeroth's Good and Evil Not Clearly Defined

I think the idea is more to let people know that the stereotypical "bad guys" aren't always the bad guys and the stereotypical "good guys" may not always be good guys.

This is well said. Many games out there tend to have a "good/honorable" faction and an "evil/dark" faction. We've strayed from that formula after evolving the Horde and Alliance stories through Warcraft I-III and World of Warcraft.

The point is there is moral ambiguity on both sides, even while, at a glance, the Horde would appear more savage and the Alliance would appear as the more traditional good guys. We like having more character depth than that. We like fusing both factions with moral and political ambiguities. Both the Horde and Alliance have seen moments of triumph, as well as moments of disgrace.

Their destinies, however, are not written in stone. Only time will tell how the actions of their leaders will be judged. But one thing is certain, neither faction is one dimensional in terms of their actions, ambitions, and morals.

2011 European Battle.net Invitational

Two days of intense rivalry and top-notch entertainment at the 2011 European Battle.net Invitational came to a climactic conclusion on the evening of Sunday, August 7. And what an event it was!

This was our first visit to Poland and we were amazed by the warm welcome we received at Warsaw’s Złote Tarasy commercial centre, not forgetting the passion, energy and enthusiasm of an incredible crowd.

Thousands of Attendees

The audience supporting the best European players battling for the European titles turned the cinema into a real eSports arena. For two days the Multikino was filled with the cheers, chants, standing ovations and hola waves of thousands of attendees who ensured the 2011 European Battle.net Invitational was a huge success.

Thank you for coming (or watching the stream!)

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came to see the event in Warsaw. We had a blast meeting you and talking to you. Some of you came from far away and we were delighted to see you there.

We would also like to express our gratitude to the exceptional number of people who watched the action on our live streams.

Quest for Victory

Eight top European StarCraft II players and eight of the best World of Warcraft 3v3 arena teams embarked on a quest for victory, pride, monetary perks and the right to be called European champions.

The battle went on for two days. But there could only be one winner for each of these tournaments. In the StarCraft II competition, Ret went undefeated and claimed the European title and the first place prize of $10,000 USD.

As for World of Warcraft, the members of Showtime proved their valor and were rewarded with the European crown, as well as a prize of $15,000 USD.

If you missed the chance to be there, you can catch a glimpse of the incredible atmosphere by checking out the photo coverage of the event. Also, if you want to witness Europe’s most skilled players and you haven’t seen the matches, or would like to watch them again, don’t fret! Simply make sure to check out our StarCraft II replays and VoDs page as well as our dedicated World of Warcraft VoDs page.

Onwards to BlizzCon

Once each region’s Battle.net Invitationals are over, all the winners will head to BlizzCon 2011, which will be held in October, in Anaheim, California.

The 2011 European Battle.net Invitational winners Ret and Showtime (StarCraft II and World of Warcraft respectively) – as well as runners-up NaNiWa and DNAW Trio – will be there, competing against the very best players and teams from around the world.

Once again, thank you very much for helping us make the 2011 European Battle.net Invitational a truly unforgettable event.

Comments

Comment by pro428

on 2011-08-18T10:54:32-05:00

Lives? Oh my.

Comment by Iceveiled

on 2011-08-18T11:24:07-05:00

Yeah because we have SO MUCH storage to keep every piece of gear we've ever owned and hoped to one day have handy for a transmogrification feature. My enthusiasm for this feature just plummeted to non-existence. At first this feature sounded like a service, but turns it it's intended to be a time sink for people to "go back and revisit old content".

No thanks.

Comment by Adamsm

on 2011-08-18T11:29:15-05:00

Yeah because we have SO MUCH storage to keep every piece of gear we've ever owned and hoped to one day have handy for a transmogrification feature. My enthusiasm for this feature just plummeted to non-existence. At first this feature sounded like a service, but turns it it's intended to be a time sink for people to "go back and revisit old content".

No thanks.

You will in the patch since the Void Storage will give you another 80 slots. It's also won't really be that hard to solo some old things to get the pieces you need.

Comment by TagraNar

on 2011-08-18T11:32:05-05:00

Hey, I'm all for more reasons to revisit old content. I don't think many people have seen BT or Sunwell, and this just gives them more reason to do so.

Comment by Ashelia

on 2011-08-18T11:33:31-05:00

Hey, I'm all for more reasons to revisit old content. I don't think many people have seen BT or Sunwell, and this just gives them more reason to do so.

Yeah, this is why it's hard for me to be too mad. I have done things like ran Sunwell like 80+ times on all my toons (and I did Sunwell progression raiding, grrrr) so having to run it again on a personal level SUCKS... but I also understand like 90% of WoW players will enjoy going back and having fun with it, so it's not all about me.

Comment by shao

on 2011-08-18T11:42:00-05:00

I wonder if we'll get access to different colourings of armour sets that are available in game, but not actually available to players. e.g. where an armour set may be coloured differently for an NPC.. is this what the astral reforger is?

Comment by Adamsm

on 2011-08-18T11:45:59-05:00

I wonder if we'll get access to different colourings of armour sets that are available in game, but not actually available to players. e.g. where an armour set may be coloured differently for an NPC.. is this what the astral reforger is?

No, not at this time since you need the actual armour piece that you want to reforge your current gear into.

Comment by ElhonnaDS

Comment by dirandi

I'm excited for the Raid finder..I've tried to get into PUGS, but never any luck. I'm sure it'll be pretty rough to start, but I'm excited nonetheless.

I wonder if at 85 you can use the raid finder for pre-cata raids...I hope so, as I missed out on pretty much all of them but MC.

Comment by Maddroxx

on 2011-08-18T12:07:02-05:00

im more than a bit put off that im going to have to Re-aquire my entire tier10 set. to get the look i was hoping for.

Comment by Bloodmercy

on 2011-08-18T12:10:05-05:00

I'm rather relieved by this news, since so many people seemed to think they wouldn't have to own the item to copy the skin of it. I don't go raiding that much and I like collecting things that look interesting so this is right up my alley ;)

Comment by Timanous

on 2011-08-18T12:19:38-05:00

I think a relatively reasonable solution that would allow level 85 toons to reacquire Tier Gear and other Gear no longer available in game is to create a Legacy Armor Vendor.

It would work almost exactly like the VP and JP vendors do now. It would offer only the class-specific sets for each character, and the armor pieces would be purchaseable using either Valor or Conquest points, but the cost would be reasonable.

For example, you get 140 VP for completing a random ZA/ZG dungeon, 70 for a Heroic Dungeon.

Each piece of Tiered Armor could cost between 45 and 70 VP, so a run could net you 1 to 3 pieces depending on what you buy.

This would allow for Blizzard to make old sets available, provide yet another VP/CP dumping grounds for those who need it as the Transmogrification of armor is purely a luxury cost for players.

edit: If anyone wants to steal this idea and post it on the official forums, feel free. I don't have access to them at work with no authenticator.

Comment by Curtmaster7

on 2011-08-18T12:36:56-05:00

Each piece of Tiered Armor could cost between 45 and 70 VP, so a run could net you 1 to 3 pieces depending on what you buy.

I don't think you quite understand what Blizzard means to do with this system, they WANT you to go back and do these old raids to get the gear the proper way. Sitting in org / SW and dungeon queueing until you have full tiers will completely defeat the point of the system.

More on the point, I'd love to know Blizzard's reasoning for not letting us use legendaries in transmogrification, I worked hard for that Sulfuras and TF and now you won't let me put it into a set the same with all my other gear? It may have something to do with them being too powerful (ex. the reason why they can't be disenchanted) or simply something that might break (like the Tempest Keep temporary legendaries).

Comment by Adamsm

on 2011-08-18T12:46:12-05:00

Each piece of Tiered Armor could cost between 45 and 70 VP, so a run could net you 1 to 3 pieces depending on what you buy.

I don't think you quite understand what Blizzard means to do with this system, they WANT you to go back and do these old raids to get the gear the proper way. Sitting in org / SW and dungeon queueing until you have full tiers will completely defeat the point of the system.

He said for those pieces that were removed for the game.

Comment by Axyn80

on 2011-08-18T12:46:32-05:00

Hey, I'm all for more reasons to revisit old content. I don't think many people have seen BT or Sunwell, and this just gives them more reason to do so.

Yeah, this is why it's hard for me to be too mad. I have done things like ran Sunwell like 80+ times on all my toons (and I did Sunwell progression raiding, grrrr) so having to run it again on a personal level SUCKS... but I also understand like 90% of WoW players will enjoy going back and having fun with it, so it's not all about me.

I never played Vanilla or BC, and for me, the idea of revisiting Molten Core follows the lines of:

"Alright, so i'm absolutely alone in a 40 man raid instance for level 60s at level 85, and I have 1/6th the health of some of the bosses, i'll put minimal effort, spam multi-shot a bit, and stomp my way through here in 1 hour."

That's when i'm alone too.

BC is even funnier, when I join a Sunwell Plateau raid, it goes for alone the lines of:

/afk... *5 minutes later* "Oh look, the boss is dead." Un-afk and move on. Repeat. Now trying a boss... slams face on keyboard, does 12k dps and boss is dead in 2 minutes.

There's no content to it. The lore is semi-interesting, but i've never been much of a lore fanatic. I only do it for Thori'dal or the fact that I enjoy achievements and wanted to see Kil'jaeden dead. Sure, this may make people go back and do old content, but whether they'll actually be enjoying it is something completely else.

Oh look, my Black Temple raid just finished...

Comment by Curtmaster7

on 2011-08-18T12:49:20-05:00

Each piece of Tiered Armor could cost between 45 and 70 VP, so a run could net you 1 to 3 pieces depending on what you buy.

I don't think you quite understand what Blizzard means to do with this system, they WANT you to go back and do these old raids to get the gear the proper way. Sitting in org / SW and dungeon queueing until you have full tiers will completely defeat the point of the system.

He said for those pieces that were removed for the game.

Which in itself also doesn't work, that's basically short-changing everyone who was around to be able to raid old Naxxramas etc.

Comment by corefortheX

on 2011-08-18T12:59:49-05:00

When will 4.3 come? Because shortening this expansion to less than a year is gonna be really compulsive,at least for me.

Comment by Adamsm

on 2011-08-18T13:06:48-05:00

When will 4.3 come? Because shortening this expansion to less than a year is gonna be really compulsive,at least for me.

We don't know; since it isn't even on the PTR yet.

Comment by Magician22773

on 2011-08-18T13:38:31-05:00

Im glad to see that they are at least considering some way to get the skins from "no longer avaliable" gear. I do hope they are able to limit this to olny players that actually had the gear, but deleted it. If anything, this would allow a purely cosmetic way of showing "yeah...I was here when this gear was the shizznit!

As for rerunning old content...it can be as fun or as dull as you want it to be. You can faceroll your way through the old raids by yourself, skip 50% or more of the mobs, and grap that 1 piece of loot you are looking for. OR, you could actually group up and run them, and at least have some company along the way. I personally think it would be fun to try and gear out my 85's in as much level 60 gear as possible, and run the raids in only "raid level" gear. Its nowhere near the "same", but it could add some more fun to the grind.

As lastly, its been rehashed to death already, but the timetable on Cata is not all that much faster than what Wrath was. Especially since we don't have any idea when this is going to implemented, or how its going to roll out. If they stagger it like they did with ICC, it could be pretty close to the 18 month lifespan of the previous expansions, and at worst, it may be a couple months shorter.

As a side note, perhaps one of those awesome looking guides would be nice for what and where some of the more popular gear can be obtained from, and what is currently not avaliable. I know its a pretty easy search, but putting into guide format would be pretty cool.

Comment by Interest

on 2011-08-18T13:40:58-05:00

The gamescom 2011 convention is underway in Cologne, Germany, and the first day kicked off with a few big patch 4.3-related announcements for World of Warcraft. Here's a quick summary of the features and content that the World of Warcraft developers are talking about at the show:

Transmogrification: The ethereals are setting up shop around Azeroth to offer adventurers their latest astonishing interdimensional service. The upcoming Transmogrification feature will let players customize the appearance of their gear like never before. For the full rundown on how it works, check out our recently posted blog: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3309048#blog

Already seen =P.

Void Storage: Now that you've got a good reason to hang onto your old gear, you're going to need somewhere to store it all. With Transmogrification comes Void Storage, a long-term stash where players will be able to keep the items they just can't seem to let go of. Those ethereals think of everything, don't they? Look for an official blog post with screenshots and details tomorrow, August 18.

Oooo. Can't wait.

Death to Deathwing: Alongside all this comes a whole lot of new content. The developers revealed that patch 4.3 will feature three new 5-player dungeons, setting the stage for the ultimate fight in Cataclysm: the final showdown against Deathwing himself. Patch 4.3 will include a whole new tier of raid content culminating in an epic boss encounter unlike anything you’ve yet experienced in World of Warcraft.

Setting the stage?

Maybe this will mean something involving the Demon Soul/events that occurred after on top of the already announced WotA 5-man (which also will likely involve Deathwing).

Raid Finder and More: We're also working on a number of other new features, including a Raid Finder -- a tool similar to the Dungeon Finder designed to match players looking for PUG-friendly raids -- and some cool renovations for Azeroth's traveling Darkmoon Faire.

Make the current raid finder "easier to access". No one really uses it.

But don't worry -- there's plenty of time to prepare. We’re keeping a close eye on players’ progress through the Rage of the Firelands content, and lots of folks are still busy working on obtaining the Dragonwrath legendary staff, completing the Molten Front dailies, and rallying to take down Ragnaros. We’ll have lots more details on the raid, dungeons, and other content coming in patch 4.3 in the months ahead, so keep an eye on the official World of Warcraft website.

I dunno. People are tearing it down quite fast, and I'm not just talking about the top guilds either.